The information age is a great time for business. With a solid web-presence, even small businesses can give the ‘big boys’ a run for their money with heightened visibility and solid customer service. IT support is something that small businesses sometimes ignore, but this is something that you do at your own peril and we’ll tell you why.
Let’s talk about why you should hire a professional managed IT services team for your business and you can see for yourself!
Business relies on communication
We take communication for granted. We have phones in our pockets that can access the entire world at the touch of a button, so we don’t tend to think about our business communications – until they stop working.
Basic things like emails and conference calls aren’t so basic behind the scenes and when they go down (and they do), you’ll be feeling the heat as you wait for that contractor to arrive at your business to fix things.
Random contractors don’t know your infrastructure
When that contractor arrives, there is no guarantee that they are going to know about your business infrastructure. This is normal, as every small business has their own ‘tech fingerprint’. Sometimes you have applications written specifically for your business, known as ‘homegrown’ apps.
Often there are many different types of PC’s and networking equipment… and a contractor who has never seen your environment is going to need time to figure it out. If you already had managed IT services, this wouldn’t be a problem, as they’ll know exactly what you are running and where to start looking to fix your issue pronto!
Time is money and the clock is ticking
Downtime is the longest time in the world for a business and it can cost you money. Sometimes in the 10’s of thousands! Clients can easily lose faith in you if you can’t even manage to email them on time or a simple video conference. It doesn’t inspire their confidence in your ability to handle their business and leads to conversations that you NEVER want to have.
It’s better to outsource IT team support so that if an issue arrives, someone will be working on it right away (often before you even call them!).
Solid, dedicated security is a must
The final reason is one of the most important one. A breach in security, especially one that loses data, has broken many businesses. You read about it in the paper sometimes, shake your head, and count your lucky stars that it hasn’t happened to you.
This kind of news is one of the best reasons that you need managed IT services. IT support can set up a solid security strategy so that you and your client’s data is protected and in the event of an actual breach, so that the damages can be minimized and won’t bring your entire business down from lawsuits or lost business.
Clients will also notice when your website boasts certain types of security and this can attract their business. Further, potential investors like to put their money where it is the safest and solid security is simply the cost of modern business.
Some final words on IT support
When it comes down to it, a dedicated IT support team is critical for every business. They keep your network online 24/7 and they know your infrastructure. The latter fact means that they can fix a problem much faster than some contractor you’ve hired off of the street.
Finally, they can keep your data protected from hackers or data leaks caused by missing simple upgrades that most have never heard of. A dedicated IT support team for your business isn’t just a good idea, it’s the way that proper business gets DONE!
